Method and apparatus for service multiplexing over telephone networks which employ bridged tap construction

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for service multiplexing over telephone networks which employ bridged tap construction to allow the simultaneous delivery of different services to physically separated subscribers over a shared single pair of wires. Service is provided to one or more subscribers by connecting them to an open-circuited branch or directly with the working portion of the shared line. Service filters are used at appropriate locations in the network topology to couple or isolate the different communication channels. The wire pairs are used to simultaneously carry different services to physically separated subscribers, i.e., a portion of a common line carries one service to one location and a second service to another location. Telecommunication services are partitioned to occupy separate frequency bands in the spectrum of the transmission line using frequency division multiplexing (FDM) techniques. The location of the terminating point for each service is different and flexible as facilitated by the use of bridged taps, service drop connections and appropriate filtering. Inverse multiplexing, a method of combining multiple physical links (e.g., telephone lines) into a single, virtual communication link, is used to increase transmission bandwidth. The simultaneous delivery of different telecommunication services over a common line to physically separated subscribers may be used in conjunction with inverse multiplexing to increase and/or vary the transmission bandwidth to individual subscribers.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to the field of datacommunications. More specifically, the present invention concerns amethod and apparatus for simultaneously delivering differentcommunication services to physically separated subscribers over asingle, shared pair of communication wires, as well as inversemultiplexing multiple physical links into a single, higher bandwidthvirtual link.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Communication systems, such as the telephone system (e.g., the PublicSwitched Telephone Network or PSTN) typically employ bridged taps, whichare open circuit cable pair segments constructed such that multiplebranches of a single pair share a common origin. Bridged taps areprovided so that a common pair of wires can serve different subscribers.The common pair of wires passes more than one subscriber location, witheach location having an access point for connecting the subscriber'sservice drop wire to the common pair. Bridged taps are commonlyincorporated into telephone distribution networks in order to provideplant flexibility for future additions, or for changes in servicedemands.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate two different types of bridged tapconstructions. Shown in FIG. 1 is a tree-type topology bridged tapconstruction in which a number of cable pairs (collectively bundle 102)emanate from respective line cards at the central office 104. At point106, bridged tap 107 connects to cable pair 109. Bridged tap 107 is acable pair within bundle 108, which includes a number of cable pairs,only one of which is shown in the drawing. Bridged tap 112, which iswithin bundle 110, is shown as a continuation of cable pair 109. Similarto bundle 108, bundle 110 contains a number of cable pairs, only one ofwhich is shown (112). Connected to cable pair 112 is a drop cable whichprovides service access for subscriber 114. The topology of FIG. 1 is“tree-type” in that the bridged taps resemble interconnecting branchesof a tree. In contrast, the bridged tap construction of FIG. 2 is abus-type construction in that the distribution path from the centraloffice is a single path, with no branching paths.

Such bridged tap construction results in a cable layout having one ormore cables starting at a common origin. Each of these cables may havebranches, and the branches may in turn have additional branches. Theresulting topology is the tree-type topology having branching cableswith no closed loops. Alternatively, where there is no branching, thetopology may reduce to a bus-type topology in the case of a single cablewith one or more subscribers attached to the shared common line.

A class of digital subscriber line transmission methods (e.g., ADSL,VDSL) use a single pair of wires to provide both narrowband andbroadband services to a subscriber using frequency divisionmultiplexing. This is illustrated in FIG. 3. At the network side of theline, narrowband and broadband services are coupled onto the line at thesame location (e.g., at the central office or at a remotely locatedservice node). Specifically, narrowband services are coupled via linecard 120, while broadband services are coupled via ADSL modem 122. Thenarrowband and broadband services are coupled onto cable pair 112 withinbundle 102 via respective service filters 124 and 126. Alternatively,the narrowband and broadband services may be coupled onto the line atdifferent locations on the network side of the line (e.g., Plain OldTelephone Service POTS coupled onto the line at the central office andADSL coupled onto the line at a remotely located service node).

At the subscriber side of the line, the services are separated at theend of the drop at the customer premises 128 using respective servicefilters 130 and 132. The service filters used in combining andseparating services may be such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,627,501 and 5,528,630, the contents of which are incorporated hereinby reference. For example, a filter may be located at the end of thedrop wire which couples the telephone service onto the existingin-premises telephone wiring and isolates the broadband service from thetelephone wire pairs. Alternatively, the two service filters 130, 132 atthe customer premises 128 may be combined into one apparatus, forexample, a POTS-type splitter. A metallic wire pair has informationcarrying capacity (bandwidth) available in the unused frequency spectrumof the channel. In the case of a POTS line, the frequency spectrum from0-4 kHz may be used for POTS, while the upper portion may be used forISDN, ADSL or VDSL.

The number of metallic wire pairs in adequate condition may beinsufficient to support full market deployment of broadband servicesusing the existing telephone network infrastructure, because certainlimitations exist on the number and quality of wire pairs in thedistribution cables. The number of wire pairs that pass each premises isusually limited. For example, in the case of residential premises, thenumber of wire pairs that pass the premises is typically two pairs, witha minimum of one and a maximum of about five pairs. It is estimated thatthe number of pairs available may be insufficient to meet the demand forservices.

Several aspects of the existing telephone network infrastructure limitthe information carrying capacity (bandwidth orbit rate) of theindividual lines. These factors include: (1) the type of cables and theuse of bridged taps; (2) the condition of the plant; and (3) the noisepicked up by the network. Also, a reduction in capacity may result fromrestricted use of particular frequency bands (e.g., amateur radio bands)because of potential radio frequency interference. These factors willreduce either the usable bandwidth available for broadband service (bitrate) or the length of the working line (reach).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention allows the simultaneous delivery of differentservices to physically separated subscribers over a shared single pairof wires. Service is provided to one or more subscribers by connectingthem to an open-circuited branch or directly with the working portion ofthe shared line. Service filters are used at appropriate locations inthe network topology to couple or isolate the different communicationchannels. The wire pairs are used to simultaneously carry differentservices to physically separated subscribers, i.e., a portion of acommon line carries one service to one location and a second service toanother location. Telecommunication services are partitioned to occupyseparate frequency bands in the spectrum of the transmission line usingfrequency division multiplexing (FDM) techniques. The location of theterminating point for each service is different and flexible asfacilitated by the use of bridged taps, service drop connections andappropriate filtering.

Inverse multiplexing is a method of combining multiple physical links(e.g., telephone lines) into a single, virtual communication link withincreased transmission bandwidth. For example, three T1 lines eachhaving a capacity of 1.544 Mbps may be multiplexed to provide anaggregate capacity of 4.6 Mbps between two telephone offices. Similarly,other types of services may be multiplexed, such as ADSL or VDSL.

The simultaneous delivery of different telecommunication services over acommon line to physically separated subscribers may be used inconjunction with inverse multiplexing to increase and/or vary thetransmission bandwidth to individual subscribers.

The present invention leverages existing bridged tap construction tofree up additional wire pairs in the distribution cable for servicedelivery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention discussed in theabove brief explanation will be more clearly understood when takentogether with the following detailed description of an embodiment whichwill be understood as being illustrative only, and the accompanyingdrawings reflecting aspects of that embodiment, in which:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of telephone network wiring incorporating atree and branch topology bridged tap;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of telephone network wiring incorporating abus topology bridged tap;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of telephone network wiring incorporatingservice filters;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of telephone network wiring incorporatingservice multiplexing over a bus topology bridged tap;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of telephone network wiring incorporatingservice multiplexing over a tree and branch topology bridged tap;

FIG. 6 is an illustration of service multiplexing of frequency divisionmultiplexed signals;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of inverse multiplexing;

FIG. 8 is an illustration of telephone network wiring incorporatinginverse multiplexing of frequency division multiplexed signals; and

FIG. 9 is an illustration of inverse multiplexing combined with servicemultiplexing of frequency division multiplexed signals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the simultaneous delivery ofdifferent services to physically separated subscribers over a sharedsingle pair of wires in a bus-type network topology. At the network sideof the line, narrowband and broadband services via line card 120 andADSL modem 122, respectively, are coupled onto a wire pair (112) withinbundle 102. While the broadband service is illustrated in this exampleas being an ADSL modem, it should be understood that other types ofservices may be used, such as, for example, VDSL. The narrowband servicemay be POTS service. The coupling of the different services isaccomplished using service filters 124 and 126 which act to insert aninformation signal into and/or extract a received information signalfrom a particular frequency band. The service filters prevent thedifferent frequency band signals from interfering with each other. Suchcouplers are well known in the art and typically utilize some form oftransformer coupling along with variable impedances in the differentfrequency ranges to selectively transmit (or impede the transmission of)signals in different portions of the frequency spectrum. Specificreference may be made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,528,630 and 5,627,501 fordetails regarding exemplary service filters.

The narrowband service is ultimately delivered to customer premises 140,while the broadband service is delivered to a different customerpremises 142. At the customer side, drop cables 144 and 146 areconnected between wire pair 112 and the customer premises 140 and 142,respectively. Drop cable 144 is connected to customer premises 140 viaservice filter 148. Similarly, drop cable 146 is connected to customerpremises 142 via service filter 150. The service filters 148, 150 may belocated at the point connecting the drop cables to the distributioncable (110), or between the end of the drop cable and the in-premiseswiring at each of the customer premises 140, 142, or they may beconnected as part of the in-premises wiring. Service filter 148 preventsthe broadband signal from interfering with the signal and equipment atcustomer premises 140. Similarly, service filter 150 prevents thenarrowband signal from interfering with the signal and equipment locatedat customer premises 142.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the simultaneous delivery ofdifferent services to physically separated subscribers over a sharedsingle pair of wires, similar to FIG. 4. However, in FIG. 5, thecommunication services are delivered over a tree and branch topology.One of the main distinctions between the topology of FIG. 5 and that ofFIG. 4, is that in FIG. 5 the drop cable (144) is connected betweencable bundle 170 and customer premises 140. Cable bundle 170 is itself abridged tap emanating from cable bundle 102, and drop cable 144 isconnected to wire pair 172 within cable bundle 170. Drop cable 146 issimilarly connected between wire pair 162 of bridged tap 160 andcustomer premises 142. Essentially, in the tree and branch topology ofFIG. 5, one branch of the distribution network (bridged tap 170)provides customer premises 140 with narrowband service, while a secondbranch (bridged tap 160) provides customer premises 142 with broadbandservice.

A general model for “n” services, i.e., the distribution of “n” servicesto different customer premises, is illustrated in FIG. 6. As shown inFIG. 6, there are “n” service filters 180 (SF-1, SF-2, . . . SF-n)connected to a common wire pair at the feeder side (central office) ofthe network, and “n” service filters 182 (SF- 1, SF-2, . . . SF-n)connected to the same common wire pair at the customer premises side ofthe network. Different services, such as POTS, ISDN (Integrated ServicesDigital Network) and ADSL are generated and received at servicetransceivers located at the feeder side (190) and customer premises side(192) of the network. The service transceivers are denoted “TXRX-n” or“xDSL-n”, the latter indicating the applicable class of digitalsubscriber line. The term “xDSL” includes ADSL, VDSL and other DSL(digital subscriber line) which utilize the frequency spectrum above thestandard POTS voice channel, i.e., above 4 kHz. In the example shown inFIG. 6, there are “n” transceivers 190 on the feeder side of thenetwork, and “n” transceivers 192 on the customer premises side of thenetwork. For each communication service being provided, there is onetransceiver 190 supporting that service at the feeder side of thenetwork and one transceiver 192 supporting the service at the customerpremises side of the network.

The equipment connected to the feeder network (e.g., service filters180, transceivers 190) may be located at the central office or atlocations remote from the central office. The equipment connected to thecustomer premises (e.g., service filters 182, transceivers 192) isflexible in relation to the drop cable and premises wiring for thatparticular customer premises. However, each service filter 182 andtransceiver 192 is dedicated to a single communication service beingdelivered to that customer premises.

According to the present invention, inverse multiplexing may be used inconjunction with frequency division multiplexing employing servicefilters, as described above, to increase the transmission bandwidth to aparticular customer premises. Inverse multiplexing refers to thecapability to combine multiple physical links (e.g., multiple telephonelines) into a single virtual link. An example of inverse multiplexing isshown in FIG. 7 where three T1 lines (202, 204, 206), each having abandwidth of 1.544 Mbps are used to deliver approximately 4.6 Mbpsfull-duplex communication over a virtual link. In this manner, inversemultiplexing may be used to combine the service capacity of two or moredigital subscriber lines.

A specific application of the concept shown in FIG. 7 is shown in FIG.8, whereby broadband service is delivered over two xDSLs to a customerpremises at one location, while narrowband (standard telephone service)is delivered to a different customer premises at a different location.Referring now to FIG. 8, a multiplexer 210 is located at the centraloffice side of the network wiring and is connected to an aggregate“virtual” link on one side and to two xDSL modems 212, 214 on the otherside. The signals through xDSL modems 212, 214 are isolated via servicefilters 216, 218 and then connected to wire bundle 224. Also at thecentral office side of the network wiring, narrowband service may beprovided via line card 220 and service filter 222 connected to wiringbundle 224. According to the present invention, the narrowband signal(via service filter 222) and an xDSL signal (via service filter 218) areconnected to the same wire pair 228 within bundle 224. An additionalxDSL signal (via service filter 216) is connected to wire pair 229within bundle 224. The signals travel through wire bundle 224 ontobridged tap 226 which is located at the customer side of the networkwiring.

At the customer side of the network wiring, a drop cable (230) connectsfrom the wiring pair 228 to a first customer premises 234 in order todeliver the narrowband service to customer premises 234. Connectedbetween drop cable 230 and customer premises 234 is a service filter 232which is used to isolate the signal being delivered to customer premises234.

Similarly, drop cables 236 and 238 connect from the wiring pairs 229 and228, respectively, to a second customer premises 244 in order to deliverthe xDSL (or other broadband) signals on those wire pairs to customerpremises 244. Each of the drop cables 236, 238 is connected to arespective service filter 240, 242 for signal isolation. From theservice filters 240, 242, the broadband signals pass through respectivemodems 246, 248 and onto a multiplexer 250 which presents at its outputan aggregate “virtual” link at customer premises 244. In this way,narrowband service is delivered to a first customer location andbroadband service as an aggregate “virtual” link is delivered to adifferent customer location, using the same wiring pair.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, the various service filters may belocated at the point connecting the drop cable to the bundle, or betweenthe end of the drop cable and the in-premises (customer) wiring, or aspart of the in-premises wiring. In the preferred embodiment according tothe present invention for inverse multiplexing xDSL service, the servicefilters are located between the end of the drop cable and the building(customer) wiring. Also, the xDSL modem and multiplexing functions maybe implemented using the same network apparatus. At the central officeside of the network wiring, the xDSL modem/multiplexer may be located atthe central office or at locations remote from the central office. Atthe premises side of the network wiring, the xDSL modem/multiplexer maybe located at the end of the drop cable, typically at the customerpremises itself.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, if each xDSL carries 1 Mbps tocustomer premises 244, then the aggregate virtual link capacity to thecustomer premises is approximately 2 Mbps. Of course, more than two xDSLsignals may be multiplexed into an aggregate virtual link, depending onthe particular system requirements and needs.

FIG. 9 illustrates a general model for “n” services, i.e., thedistribution of “n” services to different customer premises, similar tothat illustrated in FIG. 6. However, in FIG. 9, some of the servicesutilize the principle of inverse multiplexing set out above. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 9, a service or signal 300 at the feeder orcentral office side of the network wiring may in fact represent anaggregate virtual link of “m” different xDSL signals which is deliveredto a customer premises as follows. First, a multiplexer 302 separatesthe aggregate signal 300 for handling by “m” separate xDSL modems 304(designated xDSL1-1 through xDSL1-m). Each xDSL modem 304 is connectedto a respective service filter 306 (designated SF1-1 through SF1-m) forsignal isolation. The signals from the service filters 306 aretransmitted in much the same fashion as discussed above in connectionwith FIG. 6 and FIG. 8.

At the customer premises side of the network wiring, service filters 322(designated SF1-1 through SF1-m) direct the individual xDSL signalstreams to respective xDSL modems 324 (designated xDSL1-1 throughxDSL1-m) for processing. The signals are then provided to a multiplexer326 which outputs an aggregate virtual signal 328 to the customerpremises.

In the composite model of FIG. 9, a service may use one or more digitaltransmission lines (xDSL) for inverse multiplexing. There are “n” suchservices in the example of FIG. 9, with each service having anywherefrom 1 to “m” transceivers on each side of the network wiring (i.e., thecentral office side and the customer premises side) to transmit andreceive signals on each line. The transceivers may be xDSL modems, ISDNmodems, telephone line codecs, or any device used for providing aservice over a metallic wire pair. Similar to FIG. 6, the transceiversare denoted either as TXRX-n or xDSL-n, the latter indicating theapplicable class of digital subscriber lines. For each service, thereare also 1 to “m” service filters on each side of the network wiring inorder to isolate the service from other services that may share the sameline.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may bemade therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of delivering different communicationservices to different premises, comprising: coupling a first one of saidcommunication services onto a first communication path for transmission;demultiplexing an aggregate virtual link communication service into aplurality of individual ones of said communication services; coupling afirst one of said plurality of individual ones of said communicationservices onto said first communication path for transmission;transmitting said first one of said communication services and saidfirst one of said plurality of individual ones of said communicationservices over said first communication path; decoupling said first oneof said communication services from said first communication path anddelivering said first one of said communication services to a first oneof said premises; decoupling said first one of said plurality ofindividual ones of said communication services from said firstcommunication path and delivering said first one of said plurality ofindividual ones of said communication services to a second one of saidpremises, wherein said first one of said premises is different from saidsecond one of said premises; coupling a second one of said plurality ofindividual ones of said communication services onto a secondcommunication path for transmission; decoupling said second one of saidplurality of individual ones of said communication services from saidsecond communication path; and multiplexing said first and second onesof said plurality of individual ones of said communication services intoa reconstructed aggregate virtual link communication service anddelivering said reconstructed aggregate virtual link communicationservice to the second one of said premises.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein said first one of said communication services is a narrowbandservice and said aggregate virtual link communication service is abroadband service.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said narrowbandservice includes POTS service and said broadband service includes xDSLservice.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said decoupling of said firstone of said communication services includes the use of a first dropcable connected between said first communication path and said first oneof said premises, and said decoupling of said first one of saidplurality of individual ones of said communication services includes theuse of a second drop cable connected between said first communicationpath and said second one of said premises.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein said first communication path comprises a metallic wire pair. 6.A method of delivering different communication services to differentpremises, comprising: coupling a first one of said communicationservices onto a first communication path for transmission;demultiplexing an aggregate virtual link communication service into aplurality of individual ones of said communication services; coupling afirst one of said plurality of individual ones of said communicationservices onto said first communication path for transmission;transmitting said first one of said communication services and saidfirst one of said plurality of individual ones of said communicationservices over said first communication path; further transmitting saidfirst one of said communication services using a bridged tapcommunication path connected to said first communication path;decoupling said first one of said communication services from saidbridged tap communication path and delivering said first one of saidcommunication services to a first one of said premises; decoupling saidfirst of one said plurality of individual ones of said communicationservices from said first communication path and delivering said firstone of said plurality of individual ones of said communication servicesto a second one of said premises, wherein said first one of saidpremises is different from said second one of said premises; coupling asecond one of said plurality of individual ones of said communicationservices onto a second communication path for transmission; decouplingsaid second one of said plurality of individual ones of saidcommunication services from said second communication path; andmultiplexing said first and second ones of said plurality of individualones of said communication services into a reconstructed aggregatevirtual link communication service and delivering said reconstructedaggregate virtual link communication service to the second one of saidpremises.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said first one of saidcommunication services is narrowband service and said aggregate virtuallink communication service is a broadband service.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, wherein said narrowband service includes POTS service and saidbroadband service includes xDSL service. 9.The method of claim 6,wherein said decoupling of said first one of said communication servicesincludes the use of a first drop cable connected between said bridgedtap communication path and said first one of said premises, and saiddecoupling of said first one of said plurality of individual ones ofsaid communication services includes the use of a second drop cableconnected between said first communication path and said second one ofsaid premises.
 10. The method of claim 6, wherein said firstcommunication path and said bridged tap communication path each comprisea metallic wire pair.
 11. A method of delivering different communicationservices to different premises, comprising: coupling a first one of saidcommunication services onto a first communication path for transmissionusing a first service filter; demultiplexing an aggregate virtual linkcommunication service into a plurality of individual ones of saidcommunication services; coupling a first one of said plurality ofindividual ones of said communication services onto said firstcommunication path for transmission using a second service filter;coupling a second one of said plurality of individual ones of saidcommunication services onto a second communication path for transmissionusing a third service filter; transmitting said first one of saidcommunication services and said first and second ones of said pluralityof individual ones of said communication services using said first andsecond communication paths; decoupling said first one of saidcommunication services from said first communication path using a fourthservice filter and delivering said first one of said communicationservices to a first one of said premises; decoupling said first andsecond ones of said plurality of individual ones of said communicationservices from said first and second communication paths, respectively,using a fifth and a sixth service filter; and multiplexing said firstand said second ones of said plurality of individual ones of saidcommunication services into a reconstructed aggregate virtual linkcommunication service and delivering said reconstructed aggregatevirtual link communication service to a second one of said premises,wherein said first one of said premises is different from said secondone of said premises.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein said first oneof said communication services is a narrowband service and saidaggregate virtual link communication service is a broadband service. 13.The method if claim 12, wherein said narrowband service includes POTSservice and said broadband service includes a plurality of xDSL links.14. The method of claim 11, wherein said decoupling of said first one ofsaid communication services includes the use of a first drop cableconnected between said first communication path and said first one ofsaid premises, and said decoupling of said first and second ones of saidplurality of individual ones of said communication services includes theuse of respective drop cables connected between said first and saidsecond communication paths on the one hand and said second one of saidpremises on the other hand.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein at leastone of said service filters is located between one of said communicationpaths and one of said drop cables.
 16. The method of claim 11, whereinat least one of said first and second communication paths comprises ametallic wire pair.
 17. The method of claim 11, wherein at least one ofsaid service filters is located at one of said premises.
 18. Acommunication system which delivers different communication services todifferent premises, comprising: a first service filter that couples afirst one of said communication services onto a first communication pathfor transmission; a demultiplexer that demultiplexes an aggregatevirtual link communication service into a plurality of individual onesof said communication services; a second service filter that couples afirst one of said plurality of individual ones of said communicationservices onto said first communication path for transmission; a thirdservice filter that decouples said first one of said communicationservices from said first communication path, subsequent to transmissionover said first communication path, and delivers said first one of saidcommunication services to a first one of said premises; a fourth servicefilter that decouples said first one of said plurality of individualones of said communication services from said first communication path,subsequent to transmission over said communication path, and deliverssaid first one of said plurality of individual ones of saidcommunication services to a second one of said premises, wherein saidfirst one of said premises is different from said second one of saidpremises; a fifth service filter that couples a second one of saidplurality of individual ones of said communication services onto asecond communication path for transmission; a sixth service filter thatdecouples said second one of said plurality of individual ones of saidcommunication services from said second communication path; and amultiplexer that multiplexes said first and second one of said pluralityof individual ones of said communication services into a reconstructedaggregate virtual link communication service and delivers saidreconstructed aggregate virtual link communication service to the secondone of said premises.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein said first oneof said communication services is a narrowband service and saidaggregate virtual link communication service is a broadband service. 20.The system of claim 19, wherein said narrowband service includes POTSservice and said broadband service includes xDSL service.
 21. The systemof claim 18, wherein said decoupling of said first one of saidcommunication services includes the use of a drop cable connectedbetween said first communication path and said first one of saidpremises, and said decoupling of said first one of said plurality ofindividual ones of said communication services includes the use of asecond drop cable connected between said first communication path andsaid second one of said premises.
 22. The system of claim 21, wherein atleast one of said service filters is located between said firstcommunication path and one of said drop cables.
 23. The system of claim18, wherein said first communication path comprises a metallic pair. 24.The system of claim 18, wherein at least one of said service filters islocated at one of said premises.
 25. A communication system whichdelivers different communication services to different premises,comprising: a first service filter that couples a first one of saidcommunication services onto a first communication path for transmissionover the first communication path; a demultiplexer that demuliplexes anaggregate virtual link communication service into a plurality ofindividual ones of said communication services; a second service filterthat couples a first one of said plurality of individual ones of saidcommunication services onto said first communication path fortransmission over said first communication path; a bridged tapcommunication path connected to said first communication path and thattransmits said first one of said communication services; a third servicefilter that decouples said first one of said communication services fromsaid bridged tap communication path and delivers said first one of saidcommunication services to a first one of said premises; a fourth servicefilter that decouples said first one of said plurality of individualones of said communication services from said first communication pathand delivers said first one of said plurality of individual ones of saidcommunication services to a second one of said premises, wherein saidfirst one of said premises is different from said second one of saidpremises; a fifth service filter that couples a second one of saidplurality of individual ones of said communication services onto asecond communication path for transmission; a sixth service filter thatdecouples said second one of said plurality of individual ones of saidcommunication services from said second communication path; and amultiplexer that multiplexes said first and second ones of saidplurality of individual ones of said communication services into areconstructed aggregate virtual link communication service and deliverssaid reconstructed aggregate virtual link communication service to thesecond one of said premises.
 26. The system of claim 25, wherein saidfirst one of said communication services is a narrowband service andsaid aggregate virtual link communication service is a broadbandservice.
 27. The system of claim 26, wherein said narrowband serviceincludes POTS service and said broadband service includes xDSL service.28. The system of claim 25, wherein said decoupling of said first one ofsaid communication services includes the use of a first drop cableconnected between said bridged tap communication path and said first oneof said premises, and said decoupling of said first one of saidplurality of individual ones of said communication services includes theuse of a second drop cable connected between said first communicationpath and said second one of said premises.
 29. The system of claim 28,wherein at least one of said service filters is located between saidfirst communication path and one of said first and second drop cables.30. The system of claim 25, wherein said first communication path andsaid bridged tap communication path each comprises a metallic wire pair.31. The system of claim 25, wherein at least one of said service filtersis located at one of said premises.
 32. A system for deliveringdifferent communication services to different premises, comprising: afirst service filter that couples a first one of said communicationservices onto a first communication path for transmission; ademultiplexer that demultiplexes an aggregate virtual link communicationservice into a plurality of individual ones of said communicationservices; a second service filter that couples a first one of saidplurality of individual ones of said communication services onto saidfirst communication path for transmission; a third service filter thatcouples a second one of said plurality of individual ones of saidcommunication services onto a second communication path fortransmission; transmitting said first one of said communication servicesand said first and second of said plurality of individual ones of saidcommunication services using said first and second communication paths;a fourth service filter that decouples said first one of saidcommunication services from said first communication path, subsequent totransmission, and delivers said first one of said communication servicesto a first one of said premises; a fifth and sixth service filter thatdecouples said first and second ones of said plurality of individualones of said communication services, respectively, from said first andsecond communication paths, subsequent to transmission; and amultiplexer that multiplexes said first and said second ones of saidplurality of individual ones of said communication services into areconstructed aggregate virtual link communication service and deliverssaid reconstructed aggregate virtual link communication service to asecond one of said premises, wherein said first one of said premises isdifferent from said second one of said premises.
 33. The system of claim32, wherein said first one of said communication services is anarrowband service and said aggregate virtual link communication serviceis a broadband service.
 34. The system of claim 33, wherein saidnarrowband service includes POTS service and said broadband serviceincludes a plurality of xDSL links.
 35. The system of claim 32, whereinsaid decoupling of said first one of said communication servicesincludes the use of a first drop cable connected between said firstcommunication path and said first one of said premises, and saiddecoupling of said first and second ones of said plurality of individualones of said communication services includes the use of respective dropcables connected between said first and said second communication pathson the one hand and said second one of said premises on the other hand.36. The system of claim 35, wherein at least one of said service filtersis located between one of said communication paths and one of said dropscables.
 37. The system of claim 32, wherein at least one of said firstand second communication paths comprises a metallic wire pair.
 38. Thesystem of claim 32, wherein at least one of said service filters islocated at one of said premises.